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Happy
Birthday, USA As America celebrates another birthday, it's time to get ready for what might be the most boring sports week of the year. Think about it...just what takes place this week, that gets you fired up in sports? Tour de France? Please. The announcement of the MLB All-Star teams? I didn't think so. Golf and tennis? Let me know when the British Open starts, later this month. NASCAR? Can it get more boring than what took place at Daytona with the tandem-racing nonsense? Both the NBA and NFL have lockouts going on, and unless there is an announcement that the games will be played, I think everyone is tired of meetings and court rulings. Just get the deals done, so everyone can go about making their 7- and 8-figure checks. College football is still nearly two months away. This is without a doubt the worst sports week of the year. It's time to put another steak on the grill and grab a cold one from the frig....I wish I could get excited about this week, but it's just a brutal time of the year. I did enjoy watching Novak Djokovic win Wimbledon. The guy has had an incredible year....two grand slam wins....48-1 in his matches and a perfect 5-0 record against Rafa Nadal. Not bad. Men's tennis is living the good life, right now....Nadal, Djokovic and Federer are their top 3....and all of them are great to watch and provide great matches. I can't say the same for golf, which also has 3 non-Americans as the top players on the planet. The sport desperately needs Tiger back in the mix, but it doesn't appear that he is healing as fast as anticipated. But, back to Djokovic: if you watched his match against Nadal at Wimbledon, you had to be impressed with the guy....he's incredible, and so is Nadal. This year's Wimbledon was also the final London broadcast for the legendary Dick Enberg. I've been fortunate in my life to meet and interact with many of the biggest names in broadcasting, and Enberg is one of the classiest guys that I've ever met. I know how much he loves tennis and Wimbledon, so it had to be a tearful good-bye for one of broadcasting's greatest voices. The US Open in New York should provide an amazing backdrop for the next installment of the men's tennis showdown between Federer, Nadal and new #1 Djokovic. Last year, my wife and I were able to enjoy the semi-final matches from NY that included the big three, and it was the best live sporting event that I experienced in 2010. I saw the names of the players that were chosen for the 2011 MLB All-Star team. I thought for the most part that the right guys were chosen. That was until I listened to the Atlanta Braves' broadcast crew...both radio and TV....and apparently they thought every Braves player should have been selected. I started to laugh out loud when I heard the radio team mock the four SF Giants pitchers (Vogelsong, Cain, Lincecum and Wilson) that were selected by their own manager Bruce Bochy. Hey guys, I understand who signs your paycheck....but surely you understand why the manager of the World Champions would certainly make sure he takes care of his guys before anybody else? I'm sure Bobby Cox did the same thing....however long ago it was, that Atlanta won the World Series. To the victors go the spoils.....and the Giants couldn't have won the world title without disposing of Atlanta last year. It was hilarious to hear all the whining on the airwaves from Atlanta. Don't get me wrong; I think the Braves have a really good team, and one that can certainly represent the NL in the upcoming World Series, but to be dumb enough not to understand why a manager would take care of his own guys first is simply moronic. The worst aspect of the team selection is that every team needs to be represented on the roster. If this game is supposed to be important enough to determine home field advantage in the World Series, then each manager should be able to select the best players - regardless of the team affiliation. Just my two cents....and now you can go back to your Braves broadcast. Now that the NBA has decided to join the NFL in the "lockout" business, it got me thinking back to the last time the NBA had a shortened season. I loved it. I think the NBA would be better off with a 50-game regular season....of course, the teams are losing so much money anyhow, there's no way they could afford to eliminate 30 games and the revenue associated with the smaller schedule. Since 75% of the league is losing money, I would assume many owners are loving the fact that there could be some games, and perhaps a season, lost over this negotiation. I would assume that Michael Jordan would have no problem losing a season in which he is assured of having a terrible record and a worse financial ledger. I have faith that the NFL will work out its issues....they have 9.5 billion reasons to get a deal done. However, the NBA is a different beast. There's only a handful of franchises that are financially in good shape, and that's a huge problem. The NBA enjoyed a great year with an increase in the playoff TV ratings and the big market teams enjoying the limelight. How you fix that problem is a reduction of teams, and perhaps a tighter schedule. The NBA is doing the right thing, despite the timing. But it's time for the NFL to get their deal done. |
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